Misinterpretation
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Sid awakes to a morning of lots of growling. What he sees scares him.


**Disclaimer**

I don't own Ice Age unfortunately. I do own this plot however.

**Title**

Misinterpretation

**Summary**

Sid awakes to a morning of lots of growling. What he sees scares him.

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It was a morning like any other for the mismatched herd of animals. Diego was out on a hunting trip tracking down a poor innocent animal whilst the two mammoth parents were in deep conversation. Peaches and the two opossums were chasing each other around in the snow oblivious to everything and everyone around them. And Sid? Well he was lying on a rock trying to find a position that was comfortable.

He tried many positions; hind legs above his head with his stomach facing downwards on the rock with his head facing either direction, both head and hind legs hanging off the side of the rock while his stomach faced upwards at the sky and even sleeping with his limbs up in the air. But despite his attempts, he could not get into a position he deemed comfortable.

He scratched his chin. "What is something I haven't tried?" He thought hard. A light bulb flashed in his head. "Aha!" He laid his back on the flat rock and placed his hind legs behind his head. He then replaced the former position of his feet with his arms. "Perfect!" he exclaimed, yawning loudly. His eyelids fluttered shut.

He twitched uncontrollably in his sleep, muttering incomprehensible words under his breath. Moving images of nasty sabre tooth tigers materialized in his mind. The tigers were chasing a sloth – which resembled himself. The sloth ran fast panting heavily, but the tigers were far too fast. As they drew closer to the sloth, one of the tigers growled baring its sharp teeth. The jaws clamped around the sloth's waist... Sid's eyes snapped open.

"What a horrible dream," he muttered. A low guttural growl caught his attention. He frowned, glanced down at his stomach and pressed an ear against it. "It's not me," he said aloud. He clambered off his rock and headed towards the source of the growling.

Instinct told him to run away, but his curiosity told him to stay. He hurried towards a square shaped grey rock and sat behind it, pressing his back against its cool surface. Closing his eyes, he crossed his claws and counted to three. "Please let it be Diego..." he mumbled. Sabres in general weren't very friendly, but at least he knew he wouldn't be lunch if it was his friend. Courageously, he peeked over the rock. His jaw dropped open and his eyes widened.

Before him were two large sabre tooth tigers rolling around in the snow. One of the tigers had a tawny golden coat and Sid knew that was Diego. But who was the other cat? He squinted. The cat was slightly smaller and covered in light grey fur with dark grey stripes. The grey cat rubbed itself against Diego's left side, before sitting in front of him and rolling around. The cat suddenly stopped rolling and sat motionless on the ground.

Sid frowned. "Run away," he said. "Run while you still have the chance." Just what was wrong with this cat anyway? Perhaps it was a sign of submission? The next action destroyed that thought of mind. Diego walked over to the other cat and placed a paw over its side. This was becoming a little too much for Sid, but he continued to watch with interest.

A growl escaped from Diego, as he opened his jaw and clamped down on the other cat's neck. Sid brought two paws to his mouth to stop a scream from escaping. Diego was now completely mounted on top of the other cat. The urge to scream defeated all rational thought. The grey cat was going to die! Sid threw his forelimbs up in the air, screamed and ran back towards camp. "Manny! Ellie!" he screamed, body trembling as he ran. The two mammoths stopped their discussion and turned their heads towards him.

Manny sighed. "You better have a good excuse Sid."

Sid came to a sudden halt. His sides were burning and his legs were sore, but it wasn't time to rest. He glanced up at his friends and spoke between hurried breaths. "Diego is trying to kill another sabre!"

Manny raised his trunk in confusion. "What are you talking about? We haven't seen another sabre here for miles."

He dropped his head to the left, exposing his neck. Using his right forelimb paw, he grabbed his neck making low growling noises. Manny and Ellie exchanged glances, before Manny spoke. "Are you sure you're not just imagining things?"

Sid shook his head violently. "This is real, I swear! We have to go stop him!" He ran up to Manny's trunk and pulled at the brown hairs on it. "Come on!" he urged.

"What else did you see?" Ellie asked, as Manny grunted and stood up from the ground.

Sid took in a deep breath and spoke. "Well, there was this grey overgrown cat sitting on the ground and Diego was standing above it trying to choke it to death!"

Before Manny could speak, an excited giggle escaped from Ellie's throat. She grinned at the two mammals, much to their surprise. "There's nothing to be worried about boys." The grin on her face remained.

Sid scratched his head. He wasn't sure whether or not to feel confused or be surprised by her reaction. "What do you mean?"

Ellie rolled her eyes and wrapped her trunk around Sid preventing him from escaping. "Mating season for tigers," she said, exasperated.

Sid's jaw dropped open. He knew animals mated to keep the species alive, but he never would have imagined Diego would have engaged in such behaviour. He always seemed the loner type; no-strings attached sort of a tiger. The beginnings of a smile formed on Sid's face as a dangerous idea popped into his mind. "I want to spy and blackmail him later!"

Manny shook his head. "I don't think that would be a good idea."

Sid frowned and clasped his forelimb paws together. "But I want to be an uncle." He freed himself from Ellie's weak hold and sat down on the snow. "I wonder who the girl is?" Since birth, he had never come across a female sabre before, but he was ready to welcome this one to the herd. Another low growl reached his ears and he sat upright with alert ears. "How long is this going to go on for?"

"Several times a day," Ellie replied.

"How do you know so much?" Manny asked.

Sid turned his attention away from the two mammoths and looked in the direction of the sabres. "I'm exhausted already just thinking about it," he muttered under his breath, just as the growling ceased. He lifted his head up and spotted a tawny coated tiger strutting towards them, looking much like a proud cat that caught a nice meal for itself.

Ignoring the warning looks from the mammoths, Sid ran up to Diego, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. "So," Sid started, running up to greet Diego, "what's her name?" he added.

Diego's smug expression faded quickly replaced by a look of confusion. "Uh..." He raised a paw awkwardly. How embarrassing! What was even more embarrassing was the fact his friends knew about his 'activity'.

"You didn't even get her name?" Sid was shocked. How rude! Diego didn't even bother replying to Sid's comments. He walked away leaving Sid with the two mammoths. "I am so going to teach the cubs manners..."

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My first attempt at an Ice Age fic. It's basically set after Ice Age 3, but before Ice Age 4. Shira is obviously the female tiger, but since we don't actually know anything about her yet, I thought I'd keep her unnamed. I hope it turned out alright! Would you be interested in reading a story about how they meet Shira and what happens after? Reviews much appreciated : )


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